The present invention relates to an X-ray fluorescent analysis apparatus in which a sample is irradiated with X-rays, which excites fluorescent X-rays out from the sample, and the energy and intensity of the fluorescent X-rays are then measured to determine the element composition of the sample.
The conventional X-ray fluorescent analysis apparatuses operate for a fixed measurement time when analyzing resins composed of C, O, H and the like to determine the existence and concentration of heavy metals, such as Cd and Pd, contained in the resins by very small amounts in the resins (for example, JP-A-2004-150990).
A X-ray fluorescent analysis apparatus is used to analyze resins composed of C, O, H and the like to determine the existence and the concentration of heavy metals, such as Cd and Pd, contained in the resins by very small amounts. In analyzing such resins, however, the lower limit of detection level of the apparatus changes, depending on the sizes of the samples. The lower detection limit also changes due to changes in the detection sensitivity, which changes depending on the kinds of the main components of the samples, or due to changes in the magnitude of background energy caused by the existence of other elements coexisting in the samples. In order to confirm the existence of very small amounts of metals contained in the samples, it is important to maintain the lower detection limit at a constant level for each analysis.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the above problems and provide a system which maintains the lower detection limit at a constant level for every analysis, irrespective of sample sizes, the kinds of main components of samples which affect the detection sensitivity, or the kinds of coexisting elements which affect the magnitude of the background energy.